W.N.B.A. Players Escalate Protest of Anti-B.L.M. Team Owner

Led by the members of the Atlanta Dream, players have begun wearing T-shirts supporting a political opponent of Senator Kelly Loeffler, who co-owns the Dream and has spoken against the Black Lives Matter movement.

By Sopan Deb
Aug. 4, 2020
Updated 8:00 p.m. ET

Players for the Atlanta Dream and other teams across the W.N.B.A. have begun a public show of defiance by wearing T-shirts endorsing the Democratic opponent of the Dream’s co-owner Senator Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia, who is in a tightly contested race for her seat and has spoken disparagingly of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Images of players, including the nine-time All-Star Diana Taurasi, wearing the shirts endorsing Dr. Raphael G. Warnock flooded social media on Tuesday ahead of a nationally televised matchup between Atlanta and the Phoenix Mercury.

Across the chest of the black T-shirts were two words “Vote Warnock,” a reference to the Atlanta pastor who is one of the top Democrats running against Loeffler in a special election in November.

It was the latest escalation in a conflict that has roiled the W.N.B.A. in recent weeks. Loeffler, who owns 49 percent of the team, has publicly and frequently derided the league for dedicating its season to the Black Lives Matter movement, provoking sharp criticism from some of the league’s most high-profile figures. The players’ union has called for her ouster, but W.N.B.A. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told CNN in mid-July that Loeffler would not be forced to sell the team.

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